The glyptodon, always connected with existing armadillos, a native of America. The glyptodon measured about 3 m and weighed about 1.4 t, being equivalent in size and shape to a Volkswagen Beetle. It was a herbivore and, by its constitution, it is assumed that it was not very agile. His defense against predators was based on its rigid shell. Different species are distinguished by different types of shells. Many of these shells remained empty throughout the plains of Uruguay and Argentina will likely serve as a refuge for early humans in the region.

The glyptodon is part of the group of placental mammals known as Xenarthra. This order of mammals includes armadillos, as well as several extinct species.

The glyptodon emerged in the Pliocene in South America, migrating north after, when the Isthmus of Panama joined the Americas. It is believed that they were hunted by human populations in their environment, to use the carcasses of dead animals as a refuge from hostile environments. Became extinct about 10,000 to 8,500 years.

The glyptodontes oldest known lived in the early Tertiary and were not very large. After appearing species were becoming larger, until in the Quaternary, when there were also megatherium, there were real giants who roamed in what is now Patagonia Argentina. They had a great half-shell shaped eggshell consists of many hexagonal shaped plates, round, etc.., He was locked below the animal's body with a sturdy skeleton, had a long tail, some species, finished off with barbed thick and compact.